ARIHANT

Ahimsa Parmo Dharama

Parshvanatha was the twenty-third Tirthankara (ford maker) in Jainism and is the earliest Jain leader that can be reliably dated.. According to scholars he probably flourished in 9th Century BC

Kalinga (Modern Orissa) was home to many Jains in the past. Rishabh, the first Tirthankar, was revered and worshipped in the ancient city Pithunda, which was destroyed by Mahapadma Nanda when he conquered Kalinga and brought the statue of Rishabhanatha to his capital in Magadh. Rishabhanatha is revered as the 'Kalinga Jina'. Ashoka's invasion and his Buddhist policy also subjugated Jains greatly in Kalinga. However, in the 1st century BC Emperor Kharvela conquered Magadha and brought Rushabhnath's statue back and installed it in Udaygiri, near his capital, Shishupalgarh. The Khandagiri and Udaygiri caves near Bhubaneswar are the only stone monuments dedicated to Jainism surviving in Orissa. Many of the earlier buildings were made of wood, and were destroyed.

Deciphering of the Brahmi script, India's oldest script, believed to have been created by the first Tirthankara Rishabhanatha, by James Prinsep in 1788 enabled the reading of ancient inscriptions in India and established the antiquity of Jainism. Discovery of Jain manuscripts, a process that continues today, has added significantly to retracing the history of Jainism. Jain archaeological findings are often from Maurya, Sunga, Kishan, Gupta, Kalachuries, Rashtrakut, Chalukya, Chandel and Rajput and later periods. Several western and Indian scholars have contributed to the reconstruction of Jain history. They include western historians like Bühler, Jacobi, and Indian scholars like Iravatham Mahadevan, who has worked on Tamil Brahmi inscriptions. One who is a Buddhist can still profess Jain Beliefs.

Geographical spread and influence

Jainism has been a major cultural, philosophical, social and political force since the dawn of civilization in Asia, and its ancient influence has been noted in other religions, including Buddhism and Hinduism.

The pervasive influence of Jain culture and philosophy in ancient Bihar possibly gave rise to Buddhism. The Buddhists have always maintained that during the time of Buddha and Mahavira, Jainism was already an ancient and deeply entrenched faith and culture in the region. For a discussion about the connections between Buddhism and Jainism see Buddhism and Jainism. Over several thousand years, Jain influence on Hindu philosophy and religion has been considerable, while Hindu influence on Jain rituals may be observed in certain Jain sects.

For instance, the very concept of Puja is Jain. The Vedic Religion prescribed yajnas and havanas for pleasing god. Puja is a specifically Jain concept, arising from the Tamil words, "pu" (flower) and "ja" (offering). Please refer to "Jaya Gommatesh" for more details on this topic. {Patil, Bal. "Jaya Gommatesha". Foreword by Prof. Dr. Colette Caillat. Jainism is rapidly expanding in the West as non-Indians follow this religion. With 10 to 12 million followers, Jainism is among the smallest of the major world religions, but in India its influence is much more than these numbers would suggest. Jains live throughout India; Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Gujarat have the largest Jain population among Indian states. Karnataka, Bundelkhand and Madhya Pradesh have relatively large Jain populations. There is a large following in Punjab, especially in Ludhiana and Patiala, and there were many Jains in Lahore (Punjab's historic capital) and other cities before the Partition of 1947, after which many fled to India. There are many Jain communities in different parts of India and around the world. They may speak local languages or follow different rituals but essentially follow the same principles.

Outside India, the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda) have large Jain communities today. Jainism is presently a strong faith in the United States and several Jain temples have been built there. American Jainism accommodates all the sects. Smaller Jain communities exist in Nepal, South Africa, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Fiji, and Suriname. In Belgium the very successful Indian diamond community, almost all of which are Jain are also establishing a temple to strengthen Jain values in and across Western Europe.